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Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to Host Hackathon in Hawaii

Friday, December 29th, 2023

WASHINGTON (AFNS) —

The Office of the Secretary of Defense Chief Digital and AI Office, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Army Pacific Command and the U.S. Air Force will host a multi-classification hackathon open to all U.S. citizens, Feb. 5-9, 2024.

A hackathon is an innovation event commonly employed by technology companies in which teams develop prototypes in response to enterprise challenges associated with data. The BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects hackathon will occur at one of the DOD AI Battle Labs on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Any American citizen is eligible to apply, regardless of whether they currently work for the federal government or possess a security clearance. Applications, available online here, will be accepted on a rolling first-come-first-serve basis with the first group of acceptances taking place in mid-December. Due to past events exceeding 400 participants, BRAVO has secured an over-flow room, although organizers still expect demand to exceed supply.

Attendees are not required to hold a security clearance. However, certain spaces, use-cases and datasets may require a U.S. secret security clearance or higher. Applicants may apply as an employee for the U.S. government, a U.S. government contractor working on behalf of a federal contract or as U.S. citizen either affiliated or unaffiliated with a company. Any U.S. federal employees or federal contractors are eligible to submit potential use-cases and proposed collaborations within the application process. Sourcing a use-case to these hackathons often results in an operational prototype and feedback for the sourcing organization.

Starting in 2021, the U.S. Air Force began organizing multi-service prototyping events, known as BRAVO hackathons, to expedite learning and capability development from classified and protected operational data. This year’s BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects, the fourth BRAVO hackathon and first-held inside a combatant command, is seeking to produce solutions to combatant command challenges utilizing Indo-Pacific operational theater data. BRAVO utilizes a permissive software development environment that permits the co-mingling of classified and protected data with untrusted open-source and commercial software otherwise not approved for production systems within minutes.

Prior hackathons have produced prototypes influencing major Defense Department programs in areas including large language models, space launch, flight telemetry and biometrics, unmanned systems, personnel recovery, security classification, sensing and targeting and battle damage assessment among others.

“In the early 1920s, Army Col. Billy Mitchell assessed battleships, a top military funding priority of the Department of War, could be sunk by bombers just 1/80th the cost,” said Stuart Wagner, Chief Digital Transformation Officer for the Department of the Air Force and BRAVO AI Battle Labs Executive Agent. “To disprove widely held resourcing beliefs of senators, four-star generals and the Secretary of War, Mitchell organized the Project B exercises where bombers repeatedly sunk German-captured battleships, changing warfare by turning investments to airpower in the leadup of World War II.

The BRAVO DoD AI Battle Labs are again seeking to change how warfare is conducted by enabling innovators to develop and employ data driven effects during competition and conflict.”

Applicants looking to participate may do so in one of three roles:

The “Hacker” role is open to all applicants and expects project builders with varying skill sets and experience, including operational and warfighter expertise, software development, data science, machine learning, design and user interface/user design, data visualization and product management. Hackers may optionally supply a use case during the application process.

The “Hacker Subject Matter Expert” role is open to government and government contractors who lead one or more teams with specific expertise about a use case or dataset or supplies and administers infrastructure utilized at the hackathon. HackerSMEs will be required to supply a use case during the application process.

The “Supporter” role, open to government and government contractors, provides administrative support to the event by running security, facilitating supplies delivery, organizing social events and facilitating the delivery of science fair materials and attendee check-in.

Any federal government organization (contractor or government) is eligible to submit a use case, dataset, infrastructure or potential collaboration with the hackathon by submitting a Hacker/HackerSME application to the event. Further clarification can be obtained via saf.cn.bravo@us.af.mil. U.S. citizens and industry not leveraging an existing DoD contract for their proposed collaboration are encouraged to contact the Defense Innovation Unit at onramp-hack-bravo@diu.mil.

Story by U.S. Department of Defense

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820th BDG Tactical Leader, Battle Staff Courses Shape Future Leaders

Thursday, December 28th, 2023

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – The 820th Base Defense Group plays a pivotal role in ensuring safe operations by securing air base infrastructure, safeguarding personnel and providing a strong defense posture to enable Air Force, Joint and Coalition missions.

In a joint environment with unpredictable challenges, dispersed execution and mission command becomes imperative for operational success and maintaining a lethal edge.

To create a more cohesive unit, the 820th BDG created a two-week Battle Staff Course for its unit leadership and merged its execution with the Group’s existing Tactical Leader course for squad leaders. The first iteration of this combined training occurred Dec. 1-18, 2023, at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.

A Battle Staff consists of officers and non-commissioned officers working together to support command decision-making processes, manage resources, plan and direct subordinate missions, analyze intelligence, and oversee communications and logistics during military operations. Tactical leaders are senior airmen and NCOs appointed as leaders within their unit entrusted to make decisions at the ground level.

The Battle Staff course teaches Air Base Defense Doctrine and how to implement it into mission planning for tactical leaders to employ. The tactical leader course empowers Airmen to interpret, execute and conduct lower-level planning to support the commander’s intent in the Battle Staff’s operational orders.

“By immersing students in this intensive training regimen, the (Tactical Leader) course empowers Airmen with ample leadership opportunities, allowing them to make critical decisions throughout the entirety of the program,” said Senior Airman Garrett Montilla, 820th Combat Operations Squadron training instructor.

These courses culminated with a five-day field training exercise immersing tactical leaders and battle staff in real-world scenarios where they had the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and most importantly, learn from them.

“They’re working through very realistic problems in an environment where failure is totally fine because everything is executed in a controlled environment,” said Lt. Col. Justin Bateman, 822d Base Defense Squadron commander and course creator. “We have a chance to play it back and show them the decisions they made and let them reflect on it and figure out how to learn from it during the debriefing process.”

During the training exercise, students in the Battle Staff course produced an operational order for their squadron driving a series of tasks for tactical leaders in the field to execute.

“These orders guide the squads during missions, conducting area reconnaissance and gathering crucial intel from ground forces,” Montilla said. “They ultimately inform strategic decisions by shaping future operations and their dynamic scenarios.”

To initiate the exercise, the squad leader faced the challenge of maneuvering a squad through an enemy-contested area. Upon reaching the designated operating location with low visibility, they efficiently established a base in four hours which included digging 4-foot trenches for defensive positions and setting up communications with the Battle Staff.

Operating on minimal sleep, tactical leader students underwent frequent rotations as squad leaders and team leaders. Instructors evaluated them from the moment they received patrol orders to the end of each mission. These operations focused on denying adversarial access to key terrain and enemy movement as well as eliminating adversaries in proximity to bases, decreasing enemies’ capability and willingness to fight.

“I hope that they take away a better understanding of their role and what is required of them in an airbase defense environment,” Bateman said. “I also hope that they take away the realization that we all have a lot to learn and must stay growth-minded no matter our rank. Regardless, the students are growing and you can see that in their execution.”

Story by Senior Airman Deanna Muir, 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing

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Air Force Global Strike Command Establishes Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization Directorate

Wednesday, December 20th, 2023

MBARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFNS) —

Air Force Global Strike Command recently stood up a new directorate, AFGSC/A10, the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization Directorate, at Barksdale Air Force Base.

This directorate is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of the Air Force in support of the deployment of the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM weapon system and the retirement of the LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM weapon system.

“Section 1638 of the [Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act] directed the establishment of the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Site Activation Task Force within Air Force Global Strike Command,” said Gen. Thomas Bussiere, AFGSC commander. “Brig. Gen. Colin Connor will lead the ICBM Modernization Directorate [AFGSC/A10], which organizationally consists of a Sentinel Operating Location team, a Sentinel Requirements Division, and a Sentinel Operations Division. I have absolute confidence that he and the entire A10 team will prepare the command for one of the most critical upgrades to our nation’s deterrence capabilities in history.”

Connor stepped into his role in August of this year and says he is excited about his new position, leading the new organization and the Sentinel project.

“The Sentinel project is a monumental one for the United States,” Connor said. “It aims to field 400 missiles, modernize 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across almost 40,000 square miles of U.S. territory over six states, three operational wings and a test location, to replace the Minuteman III ICBM weapon system. I am honored to be part of the team that shapes the ICBM enterprise for the future nuclear community.”

The weapon system overhaul will take place in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, California, Colorado and Nebraska over the next 20 years. All components of the previous weapon system will be replaced, including the motors, interstages, propulsion system rocket engine, and missile guidance set. The number, size, configuration and design of the nuclear warheads provided by the Department of Energy will remain unchanged.

With nuclear deterrence as the Department of Defense’s top priority mission, the standup of the A10 directorate represents one of the first steps in ensuring the United States’ nuclear capability is strong enough to withstand any threat to the United States and its allies. The work the directorate accomplishes over the coming years will ensure the Sentinel weapon system is the most cost-effective option for maintaining a safe, secure, and effective land-based leg of the nuclear triad and would extend its capabilities through 2075.

For more information regarding the Sentinel Program, click here.

By Lt. Col. Alysia Harvey, Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

Photo of BG Connor by Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar

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U.S. Air Force Selects Somewear Labs to Maximize Interoperability and Ensure Critical Situational Awareness

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023

Somewear Labs provides a secure, agile network that can be used for communication, location tracking, and other tactical applications across multi-domain operations

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Today, Somewear Labs, the technology company enabling critical communications for defense, public safety, and commercial frontline teams, announced it has received a $1.8 million contract from the U.S. Air Force. This award builds on the company’s AFWERX SBIR Phase II contract through the Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) program. This initiative integrates Somewear’s existing commercial capabilities across USAF mounted and dismounted communications and networking systems, enhancing the full spectrum of Special Tactics (ST), Personnel Recovery (PR), and Terminal Attack Control (TAC) operations. The award comes in collaboration with the Special Warfare community across the National Guard and active duty units.

New missions and threats will require units to deploy faster, identify threats quicker, and survey areas further. Incorporating Somewear’s advanced technologies into the Department of Defense (DOD) will improve required operational capabilities and enhance integration with coalition forces and foreign partners.

Supporting customers across every branch of the DOD, Somewear Labs is accelerating military modernization through unified, secure communication solutions, guaranteeing resilient and reliable communications when traditional networks are lost. Through this contract with the U.S. Air Force, Somewear Labs will deliver enhanced capabilities to further integrate into the TAK ecosystem and other government systems providing critical interoperability between dismounted personnel and Air Support Operations Centers.

Somewear’s critical communication platform, Somewear Grid, and accompanying network enabling hardware, enhance operators’ capabilities by increasing network resiliency and situational awareness across multiple domains, even in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited-bandwidth (DDIL) environments:

• The company’s existing commercial technology enables beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) satellite communication through the Somewear Global Hotspot and Somewear suite of apps across Android, iOS, Web, and ATAK, ensuring strategic interoperability.

• Earlier this year, Somewear introduced Node, a pocket-sized multi-network device that features novel automation to route data via the efficiency of mesh radio technology or the resilience of satellite connectivity, empowering teams to maintain agile, resilient communication regardless of mission needs or operating environment.

• Additionally, the Somewear Grid platform integrates with tactical systems like ATAK and provides a low SWaP (size, weight, and power) solution for the last tactical mile of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

“Partnering with companies like Somewear Labs enables new innovative solutions to solve some of the hardest problems faced by the 147th ASOS, the U.S. Air Force, and beyond,” said Major Kris Bartels, 147th ASOS, Director of Operations. “Ensuring communications are survivable in bandwidth constrained environments is critical for the safety of our operators and the effectiveness of our operations. The interoperability of the Somewear platform, across civilian and military responders, and its ability to integrate into existing systems extends communication capabilities, providing a reliable, resilient network for teams on the move.”

During military operations, real-time communication and situational awareness is paramount to ensuring the warfighter can make strategic, informed decisions at the right time — in any environment. Mission advantage will go to military forces who can coordinate and act together across all domains, rapidly. This is especially important for missions that are conducted in cell-denied terrain and in contested environments. When traditional networks are lost, communication barriers and unreliable systems put the mission and operators at risk.

“It is a privilege to grow our partnership with the U.S. Air Force and adapt our platform to the evolving needs of the DOD as we look to the future,” said James Kubik, Co-Founder and CEO at Somewear Labs. “With this contract, we are able to build on our interoperable solutions to break down communication barriers, redefine interagency collaboration, and ensure operators always maintain situational awareness, communications, and operational effectiveness.”

The TACFI effort is the epitome of strong collaboration from small businesses and government in order to advance cutting-edge technology at the intersection of commercial and national security interests.

For more information, please visit somewearlabs.com.

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First USAF Officer Training School-Victory Graduates Take Flight

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) —

The first Officer Training School-Victory class graduated at Maxwell Air Force Base Dec. 8.

The graduation ceremony marked the historic transformation of the Department of the Air Force’s Officer Training School, setting an elevated standard for the next generation of Air and Space Force leaders. OTS-V provides a competency-based course designed to develop warrior-minded leaders of character committed to the Air Force oath, values and creed.

The new course promotes transformative change through leadership reps and sets in the affective, cognitive and behavioral learning domains. This experiential learning includes 60 hours across 28 days of challenging mission command experiences, as officer trainees lead their teams in multiple demanding environments to achieve the commander’s intent. OTS MCEs are conducted in three primary environments: a new tactical level Multi-Domain Warfighting Lab, an innovative Combined Joint Task Force Wargame and a deployed field exercise to prepare graduates to serve and lead Airmen and Guardians through volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous challenges to accomplish difficult missions.

“All of it has changed to produce a better warfighter,” said Col. Derrick J. Iwanenko, deputy OTS commandant. “For the first time, we’re a competency-based course, executing mission command experiences. Within our condensed timeline, nobody is executing the level of reps and sets we’re able to induce for the trainees through mission command.”

OTS-V incorporates a physically, intellectually and emotionally rigorous five-module approach across 60 training days. OTS will conduct, on average, 20 classes per year with a new class starting every two weeks. The additional class start dates promote flexibility for stakeholders, reduce candidates’ wait time to attend training, and allow for increased trainee throughput. At any point, OTS will have up to five classes in session in various phases of training. The new training construct allows OTS to easily surge production to meet mission requirements in both steady state and a contingency mobilization posture.

“I’m extremely grateful and honored to have had the privilege to serve and to be a part of our OTS transformation,” said Col. Keolani Bailey, OTS commandant. “I’m sincerely appreciative of the entire OTS team for their innovation, passion, and commitment to the mission, each other and our trainees. Our OTS professionals are the best in the leader development business! I am also thankful for the officer trainees who invest their best to develop themselves, their peers, and our staff as we continually improve to become the premier leader development institution within the profession of arms. As warrior-minded leaders of character, our graduates emerge committed to living with honor, lifting others and elevating the performance of their teams to deter, fight and win our nation’s wars.”

By Airman 1st Class Tyrique Barquet, Air University Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on First USAF Officer Training School-Victory Graduates Take Flight

GAO Report Finds Special Operations Forces Should Slow Acquisition of Armed Overwatch Aircraft Until It Conducts Further Analysis

Monday, December 18th, 2023

Last week the Government Accountability Office issued a report regarding United States Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch program. In 2022, the command selected Air Tractor-L3Harris to provide 75 AT-802U Sky Warden aircraft to conduct Close Air Support, precision strike; and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions. The aircraft will be operated by Air Force Special Operations Command and organized into five squadrons, four operational and one for training.

Congress has never really been a fan of this program; there’s just not enough pork. It’s a propeller aircraft in an age of the Joint Strike Fighter which has components built in as many congressional districts as possible to spread the wealth.

Consequently, the House of Representatives issued House Report 117-118, accompanying the bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022, which included a provision for GAO to review the Armed Overwatch program. This is first of two reports.

What GAO found:

“GAO found that SOCOM is limited in its ability to justify this acquisition target for three reasons:

1 Documentation indicates that SOCOM decided on the size of the fleet before conducting the required analyses.

2 SOCOM did not assess how changes in the aircraft’s capabilities could affect the number needed for operations. Specifically, the aircraft selected is more capable than the one modeled. SOCOM is also determining how to adapt the aircraft to meet intelligence requirements that may affect demand.

3 SOCOM has not reevaluated its needs despite changes to operational missions (such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan) and force structure reductions under consideration.

Because of these reasons SOCOM is also not well-positioned to justify its acquisition timeline. According to SOCOM, changes to the acquisition timeline might affect the cost per aircraft. By ensuring that it thoroughly assesses its needs against adjustments in the cost per aircraft, SOCOM will be better able to make informed decisions and efficiently use the more than $2.2 billion it estimates that it will spend for the program through FY 2028.”

What GAO recommends:

“GAO is making two recommendations, including that DOD (1) analyze the number of Armed Overwatch aircraft needed using valid assumptions and taking into account changes in SOCOM’s operating environment, and (2) limit the acquisition of the aircraft until SOCOM completes the analysis. DOD concurred with the first recommendation and partially concurred with the second, describing its need for training aircraft.”

You can read the full report here.

While I personally feel that the Armed Overwatch capability was needed about 20 years ago, I’m pleased to see that it is finally being sought. What’s more, I reject the death spiral thinking that this GAO report supports. The US defense establishment has fielded fewer and fewer weapon systems over the years and it’s getting to the point where we can easily be overwhelmed by larger numbers of less capable threat systems. The AO force size is based upon what the command says it needs and that comes from decades of operations worldwide. What’s more, they’ve conducted more than a few studies to determine both capability and force size. But those weren’t good enough for Congress, or GAO.

Admittedly, I’ve been critical in the past of USSOCOM’s very expensive air force, but considering the exquisite suite of capabilities it offers the nation, the bang has been worth the buck. In other programs, particularly aviation programs, USSOCOM has initially shortchanged itself and had to incrementally buy more platforms at ever increasing costs. I don’t want to see this happen again. The Armed Overwatch aircraft can come online relatively quickly once they get moving and field a very robust capability. GAO recommends slow rolling this thing. That’s is a mistake. This investment of 75 airframes seems quite reasonable considering SOCOM is divesting of other, less capable platforms which cannot conduct both ISR and CAS functions.

Eric Graves

Editor

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, ISR, SOF | 4 Comments »

27th SOAOS Redesignates to 27th Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron

Saturday, December 16th, 2023

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. —

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — The 27th Special Operations Air Operations Squadron was redesignated to the 27th Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron during a ceremony on December 8, 2023, at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

During the redesignation and change of command ceremony, Lt. Col. Adam Jones, 27th SOAOS commander, relinquished command to Lt. Col. Phillip Henrikson, 27th SOTAOS commander, making Henrikson the first squadron commander in the newly designated squadron’s history.

Over the last decade, the 27th SOAOS played a crucial role in the success of the 27th Special Operations Wing. Its mission has now been fully integrated integrated into both the Wing Staff functions and the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron. This restructuring enables the 27th SOTAOS to focus on its new mission and align the 27th SOW with Air Force Special Operations Command’s vision and priorities.

Current national defense and Air Force Special Operations Forces strategies directs the increased importance of shifting national defense priorities from Countering Violent Extremist Organizations to integrated deterrence efforts – which requires a deliberate campaign plan. This new operating environment has proven that relationships are essential and operations are likely to be multi-domain, meaning they are not limited to air, land, and sea, but may include space, cyberspace, and the information envrionment.

“I am exceptionally excited about the future of this squadron and the mission they will execute,” said Col. Jeremy Bergin, commander of the 27th SOW. It will no doubt have significant operational and strategic impacts and I can’t think of another officer I’d rather have leading this effort than Phil.”

Born from Air Force Special Operation Command’s Theater Engagement Construct, a framework that aligns AFSOF to Geographic Combatant Commands and Theater Special Operations Commands, the 27th T-AOS will leverage AFSOC’s competitive advantage – Air Commandos. Through partnerships and multi-domain efforts, the T-AOS will regionally synchronize, integrate, and employ AFSOF capabilities.

By focusing on one region, Africa in this case, the 27th T-AOS will bring three crucial distinct capabilities to its aligned region. The unit will work to determine SOF air capabilities and limitations, gain an advanced understanding of regional complexities, and utilize regional and AFSOF expertise to effectively execute the mission.

“T-AOSs are the first units of their type within AFSOC who are granted direct communications with their respective TSOCs and GCCs,” said Henrikson. “The 27th T-AOS team is already looking at ways to counter our adversaries’ efforts to gain a foothold in the turbulent content of Africa.”

The T-AOS will work to broaden and deepen the partnerships and alliances in United States Africa Command. These relationships require extensive collaboration and the unit will be the force that drives unique AFSOF strategy for TSOCs, and ultimately GCCs, by integration with partners and Allies in mind from the start.

To do this, the unit will house a multitude of Air Force Specialty Codes across several different types of career fields. From Special Tactics combat controllers to maintainers, the T-AOS will advise partner nations, recommend force employment, and conduct operations across several domains.

As an example, to support Special Operation Command Africa’s campaign support plan, the 27th T-AOS may be called upon to look at a specific problem set. From an air perspective, the T-AOS can assess the problem and offer potential solutions while applying regional expertise to ensure the offered solutions would be effective and realistic for that operating environment. With the potential course of action in mind, the 27th T-AOS will build a concept of operations alongside SOCAF, in support of AFRICOM’s campaign plan. In this construct, the Air Commandos who do the concept development could also be the same Air Commandos who then execute the operation.

The National Defense Strategy charges the Department of Defense to pivot to integrated deterrence and the T-AOS is AFSOC’s organizational answer. The 27th T-AOS offers an opportunity to leverage AFSOC’s decades of countering violent extremist experience to advise partners and Allies in AFRICOM. Increasing a partner nation’s ability to counter extremist organizations reduces their reliance on other external forces, forges relationships, and works to deter our adversaries.

“Strategic competition is a persistent and long-term struggle that occurs between two or more adversaries seeking to pursue incompatible interests without necessarily engaging in armed conflict with each other,” said Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander.

Addressing the challenges presented by today’s complex national security environment requires a multi-lens, multi-layer approach. The 27th T-AOS will address the complexity of these national security challenges by developing concepts of operations pairing AFSOF capabilities to a threat vulnerability in such a way that it generates the desired effect that best supports the joint force and our partners and Allies.

By Senior Airman Mateo Parra, 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

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Israeli Air Force – First Operational Employment of Guided Parachute System

Tuesday, December 12th, 2023

The Israeli Defense Firce has released a video of the first use of a guided resupply parachute system in Gaza. It is a precision system which utilizes ramair parachutes and the IAF has had the capability sonce 2015.

The drop was accomplished by the 103rd ‘Elephants’ Squadron of the IAF utilizing the C130J Shimson. The cargo for the mission was seven tons of water for troops fighting in Khan Yunis.

Posted in Air Force, International, Parachuting | Comments Off on Israeli Air Force – First Operational Employment of Guided Parachute System